A Stellar New Fantasy Novel and 4 Other Books We're Reading This Month

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A Stellar New Fantasy Novel and 4 Other Books We're Reading This Month

It’s not easy, but in between the midnight screenings, Netflix binges, and multiplayer gaming marathons, we try to read. And sometimes, that even includes actual books. They’re the perfect escape in our hypercaffeinated, soundbite-dominated, attention-deficit-disordered digital age. But we still need motivation, just like everyone else. So, to keep our eyes open and the pages turning, we’re starting a (not very official) Underwire book club, and we want you to join. Every month, we’ll tell you what we’re reading, and maybe even gin up some discussion questions to animate our virtual dinner parties. We're going for a range of experiences, so you’ll find nonfiction titles alongside our new genre faves, plus more "literary" stuff if we’re feeling it. This month, we’re balancing some quick reads—a Jonathan Franzen-blessed debut and a slim companion volume from one of our favorite new(-ish) fantasy writers—with Walter Isaacson’s latest blockbuster on the history of technological innovation, along with a few other selections. Attention, readers: book club starts now.

The Blockbuster: The Innovators by Walter IsaacsonRelease: October 7In the intro to his fat new tome on a topic no less ambitious than the history of digital-era innovation, Isaacson writes: "We talk so much about innovation these days that it has become a buzzword, drained of clear meaning." Well, yes: that word, along with its related forms—innovate, innovative, innovator—should probably be banned from most self-respecting publications for a while. But if anyone can get away with it, it’s Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs and institution unto himself. Also, not enough people appreciate Ada Lovelace’s contributions to computer science (Isaacson’s first chapter). She was an innovator of the truest kind.For discussion: Is innovation the same thing as genius?

The Crowd-Pleaser: Yes Please by Amy PoehlerRelease: October 28It’s a good time to be a comedian-author: Neil Patrick Harris and Russell Brand both have books out this month (the former being framed, amusingly, as a "choose your own autobiography"). But the one we’re most excited about is Amy Poehler’s. Her bestie Tina Fey dominated this category in 2011; will Yes Please be this year's Bossypants? The back cover mentions her "frequent turns as acting double for Meryl Streep," so on the basis of that joke alone, we say yes.For discussion: Once and for all: Tina Fey or Amy Poehler? (Hint: There’s no right answer.)

The Genre Pick: The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick RothfussRelease: October 28If Patrick Rothfuss nails the third book in his Kingkiller Chronicle—and it'll be tough—he’ll have written one of the great fantasy trilogies of our time. But that won’t come out for, we dunno, another couple of years. In the meantime, we’ll have to make do with this companion volume about the sprite-like Auri, one of the series’ most beloved characters. We love Auri, but what’s the deal with fantasy writers dragging their feet with these side-story embellishments? George R. R. Martin, we’re also looking at you—we don’t need an untold history (also out this month). At least J. K. Rowling had the good sense to finish Harry Potter before she gave us Pottermore.For discussion: Is Rothfuss already one of the great fantasy writers of our time?

The "Literary" Choice: The Wallcreeper by Nell ZinkRelease: October 1Much has been made of Jonathan Franzen’s endorsement of this newcomer’s talents. Which, OK, great, we’re glad Franzen’s a fan (a…fanzen?). Zink’s debut novel doesn’t need a celebrity blurb. Its premise is so good it endorses itself: woman gets hitched to a birder, moves to Europe, and becomes an eco-terrorist. You had us at "eco-terrorist." Wait, no, you had us at "birder." (That's probably where she had Franzen as well—he's no stranger to ornithological pursuits.)For discussion: Which matters more to you in literary fiction: premise or prose?

The Existentially Weighty One: The Meaning of Human Existence by Edward O. WilsonRelease: October 6With a title like that, you might expect something encyclopedia-length. After all, this is the same Harvard biologist who once turned in 732 pages about ants. (The Ants, written with Bert Hölldobler, won Wilson his second Pulitzer Prize.) But no: apparently Wilson, now 85 years old, can answer the oldest question in a mere 187 pages. His The Social Conquest of Earth, the precursor to this book, overburdened us with facts and theories; this one, Wilson’s "most philosophical work to date," promises to contextualize those insight, and fill us with wonder.For discussion: What IS the meaning of human existence? Or, more seriously: How does Meaning advance the ideas Wilson put forth in The Social Conquest of Earth?

Best of the RestWe can’t read everything, but if we could, Chuck Palahniuk (whose Fight Club means a lot to some people) came out with Beautiful You last week, and William Gibson is following up 2010’s Zero History with The Peripheral. There’s also As You Wish, in which actor Cary Elwes tells us (inconceivable!) tales from the making of The Princess Bride. Finally, vampire queen Anne Rice is resurrecting her beloved antihero in Prince Lestat, out today. That woman must be approaching immortality herself.